


To Skin A Cat

by L_E_D



Category: Original Work
Genre: Diary/Journal, Gen, Horror, Short One Shot, Suspense
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-27
Updated: 2020-06-27
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:27:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,429
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24939043
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/L_E_D/pseuds/L_E_D
Summary: I’m so excited! Today is my first day working for Mrs. Gardner. It’s my first job and I get to spend everyday by myself, away from the city, taking care of a lovely country house. What more could I ask for?





	To Skin A Cat

June 3rd

I’m so excited! Today is my first day working for Mrs. Gardner. It’s my first job and I get to spend everyday by myself, away from the city, taking care of a lovely country house. What more could I ask for?

There’s a lot that needs fixing. Some of it will take quite a while to take care of, but Mrs.Gardner told me to take as much time as I need. She likes to keep me company when I work; she sits next to me to drink her tea. Sometimes she comments on my work, but she only ever has good things to say.

Home is too far away to travel back and forth everyday, so Mrs.Gardner offered me the guest bedroom. A whole room to myself, can you believe it? There’s a large bed, big enough for two people, and a huge dresser with more than enough space to fit all my clothes. It takes up most of the wall! Unfortunately, the bedroom door is broken and won’t stay shut. There’s no window either, but that’s alright. The stars are so bright out here, they’d just keep me up at night.

Tomorrow, I’m fixing the lamp above the dining table, hanging some frames, and replacing the lock on the front door. Maybe, if I have time, I could start repainting the bathroom, or change the leaky pipes in the kitchen. Maybe I could even start a garden! God knows there’s enough space in the backyard for it. Ah, I can’t wait to get started! Tomorrow is going to be great, I can feel it!

  
  
  
  


June 11th

Well, my first week working for Mrs.Gardner is over. I feel like I’ve accomplished a lot already, yet there’s still so much to do! Thankfully, Mrs.Gardner is patient with me. She agreed to my garden idea -- I’ve already cleared out a lot of the brush and planted a few vegetables. I wanted flowers at first, but the field behind the house is already full of them! I went to pick out some red yarrows yesterday. Mrs. Gardner seemed very pleased, and even put them in a vase on the dining table. I’m glad she agreed to keep them, they really lighten up the house. 

Despite how amazing this week has been, I can feel the exhaustion getting to me. The work itself isn’t too demanding; I may even be taking it a little too easy. No, the real issue is sleep. 

The house is made of old wood and, at night, its noises become overwhelming, I find it almost impossible to fall asleep. I don’t really notice it during the day, but the moment I lay down and shut my eyes, it’s all I can hear. The floorboards creak something awful, and there are these strange knocking sounds coming from the pipes in the walls.

Mrs.Gardner isn’t affected by the noises at all. When I brought them up over breakfast, she just seemed confused. I think, in her old age, she’s lost some of her hearing. Good for her, I guess. At least one of us should be getting some rest. 

  
  
  
  
  


June 14th

Mrs.Gardner has left town for a while. I get the house all to myself! I wanted to take this time to fix some things in her bedroom, but she locked the door on her way out. So instead, I’m redoing the tiling in the bathroom. It’s dirty work; there’s mold and muck everywhere, but it’s work that can’t be ignored forever. I’m trying to work as quickly as possible to make sure everything is done by the time Mrs.Gardner gets back. 

I’m staying up much longer than I should working on this. It’s probably for the best; my sleeping hasn’t gotten any better. If anything, the house has gotten even noisier since Mrs.Gardner left. With the bathroom floor missing some layers, the popping from the pipes is deafening. The staircase sounds like it’s crumbling under its own weight. I go to bed late and get up early. It’s exhausting, but at least I’m getting good work done.

  
  
  
  


June 16th

I accidentally broke one of Mrs.Gardner’s glass trinkets while dusting the living room (I really hope she won’t be too upset). I had to lift the carpet to clean out the shards that slipped under and I found… a trap door! It looks exactly like it does in the cartoons, with the round metal handle and everything. Unfortunately, it’s locked pretty tight. It’s not condemned, though; there’s definitely something down there. I dropped a penny between the cracks, and it took three whole seconds to hit the ground. 

I, of course, spent the rest of the evening trying to find the key. I’m ashamed to say I even tried prying it open with the crowbar I’d been using for the bathroom tiles. No dice. That door is closed and has no intention of opening anytime soon. I haven’t given up though. Giving it another shot will be my reward for finishing the bathroom before Mrs.Gardner comes back.

  
  
  
  


June 19th

Oh, peaceful sleep, how I miss thee! I spend my nights doing everything I can to drown out the sounds. I know it’s probably just a trick my ears are pulling on me, but I swear the noises have gotten even louder. Putting a pillow over my head doesn’t help anymore. I can feel my progress slowing, but I can’t help it. Fatigue is taking over as my concentration slips away from me.

Last night was the worst so far: I didn’t sleep a wink. Although, at some point during the night I landed in that delicate spot that sits right between sleep and consciousness., where dreams mix with reality just enough to mess with you. I remember looking up and seeing specks of red hovering in the space by the open door. I was so tired, and they were so blurry, but for a moment I mistook them for eyes, staring straight at me. The illusion disappeared soon after, but still, I didn’t sleep the rest of the night. Maybe I’ll try the couch tonight. Anything has to be better than this.

  
  
  
  


June 20th

As it turns out, the couch was a terrible idea. If I thought the knocking was loud in the bedroom, it’s nothing compared to the living room. I could barely hear myself think. 

I feel like I didn’t sleep again, but I must have. The sun came around too quickly for me to have been up waiting all night. I was so tired, I probably didn’t even notice.

  
  
  
  


June 20th - in the evening

I wasn’t going to write this down at first. It feels too ridiculous to even consider, but it’s all I can think about. I have to tell someone, even if it’s just a piece of paper. 

The red eyes came back last night. Staring at me from cracks in the trap door. They were a deep, deep red, with a slit pupil in the center. Like a snake. They didn’t blink, they just stared at me, and I could do nothing but stare right back. I was frozen. I felt like if I moved, even just a little, the door would open, and the eyes would come closer. I don’t know how long I laid there, looking at them, but eventually the sun rays came through the windows and the eyes were gone.

It was only a dream, I know. I only wish I could get myself to believe it.

  
  
  
  


June 22nd 

I’m almost done fixing the tiling in the bathroom. I just need to nail a few more things down, and everything will be set! I just hope I tired myself out enough to actually be able to fall asleep.

  
  
  
  


June 24th

No luck getting any rest yesterday. I was so close, right at the edge of falling asleep, when I heard a loud knocking noise coming from downstairs. It was so much louder than the others before, I almost got up to make sure nothing had fallen over. Instead, I just sat up in my bed and turned on the bedside lamp. I used to think it was perfect, just dim enough to help me fall asleep. But last night I really wished it was brighter. 

There’s never been any light in the hall outside my bedroom, but last night felt especially dark. I spent a few minutes staring right at the spot where the door hangs open, straight into pitch black, waiting for any other noise to follow the first one. The house stayed silent.

I told myself I would check on whatever had fallen the next morning and shut the light… But then, just as I was laying back down, another noise came from the staircase. It was one of its usual creaks, the familiar ones that have kept me up before. Somehow, this time, it kind of scared me. Like there was actually something coming up the stairs. So I turned the light back on, for even longer this time. Nothing.

When I shut the light again, I shut my eyes tight with it. There were a few seconds of peaceful silence, so I took the risk of opening my eyes again. 

For the briefest second, I saw them. Sharp, red eyes with snake-like pupils, looking at me from where the door hung open. 

I jumped up to switch the light back on. The eyes were gone. I was too afraid to turn it off, so I didn’t, and instead spent the night staring into the hallway.

Now, it’s almost noon, I’m sitting in the garden, and I feel ridiculous. The living room still looks like a mess from the few hours I spent trying to get the trap door open, but there was nothing broken, nothing out of place. Clearly, my tired imagination is getting the best of me.

  
  
  
  


June 25th

I fell asleep in the bathroom today, completely by accident, while working on the tiles. I guess I was more tired than I thought. Now, it’s nighttime, and I can’t fall asleep. There’s also a deep ache in my neck from where it rested against the bathroom wall during my nap. 

I’m going to put this journal down now, and turn the light off. I’m not a child who needs a nightlight. Everything will be okay in the morning.

  
  
  
  


June 26th

There was a loud noise downstairs again last night. I could’ve sworn it sounded like the trap door opening. I didn’t bother going downstairs, but I slept with the light on, just in case.

This morning, I checked on the trap door. It was still, of course, locked tight. This is getting ludicrous. I’m like a kid who’s watched one too many scary movies. I need to calm down, and take control of myself. 

  
  
  
  


June 27th

It’s not real. It’s not real.It’s not real.It’s not real It’s not real It’s not real It’s not real IT’S NOT REAL

  
  
  
  
  


June 28th

I tried dragging the couch over the trap door, but all I managed was to scratch the floor. The furniture in this house is large and heavy, and I’m nowhere near strong enough to even think of moving anything. 

But that’s okay, really. The door is still locked, afterall. There’s nothing getting in, and nothing getting out. Right?

  
  
  
  


June 30th

I would like to write that the red eyes didn’t come to haunt me last night. I would like to write that I had a peaceful and dreamless sleep. That the red yarrows are still on the kitchen table. That I didn’t throw them out because seeing the colour out of the corner of my eye makes me wince.

I would like to write that I am not afraid. But I was never a very good liar.

  
  
  
  


July 1rst

I can’t pretend it’s just a dream anymore. I know it’s there, looking, staring, waiting for me to make a mistake, to slip up, to stop paying attention. I know it’s the one making the noises at night. I can hear it hitting the trap door from the inside as I try to fall asleep. I know the cracking noises I hear are from the door opening, from the snake crawling up the stairs and to my door. Its eyes stare at me, and I stare right back, trying not to blink, trying not to fall asleep. 

When the sun rises, the red eyes go away. It’s only then that I dare going downstairs to check on the trap door. It’s always locked, like it was the morning before, like it’s always been. 

  
  
  
  


Early July

I don’t know how many days I’ve stayed awake, but one thing’s for sure: the eyes have stopped coming. The hallway is simply dark at night, no red anywhere to be seen. I don’t think letting my guard down is a good idea, but I’m running out of options. I can’t stay awake forever. The noises are still there, as loud as ever, but I’m sure I’m tired enough to fall asleep despite them. My vision is getting blurry and I’ve had to stop working; my hands shake too much. 

One night. One night of rest is all I’ll need.

  
  
  
  


Night

I’ve made a terrible mistake. I was never safe, not even for a minute. 

I’m writing this with my back resting on my bedroom door, pressing my entire weight against it to try and hold it shut. Anything to stay busy. To keep myself from falling asleep.

The red eyes. I’ve called them snake-like for so long, it never even occurred to me that my impression of them could be wrong. 

I had just shut the light for the first time in days, laying in my bed, eyes glued to the vacant space by the door, when they appeared. Red, and sharp, like a predator’s. And then-

Oh god, I can feel it pressing against the door. It isn’t a snake, I was wrong. Its eyes, they’re like a cat’s. When they see prey, the pupils widen, and the red iris disappear.

All those nights I thought I was finally alone… 

The missing red wasn’t a sign of freedom. It was the first hint that the trap was closing in.

The floor behind the door is cracking so loudly. I’ll be okay, so long as I keep pressing the door closed. The eyes will go away, like they always do, the moment the sun comes up. I just hope I can keep myself awake until then.

  
  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Thank you bee for the beta <3


End file.
